PAVEL FRANCOUZ

The Colorado Avalanche got a key player back with the return of Nazem Kadri for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Colorado not only failed to take a stranglehold in the Stanley Cup Final after a 6-2 loss to Tampa Bay in Game 3 but also wound up with goaltending questions.

Steven Stamkos, Pat Maroon and Ondrej Palat each had a goal and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning scored four times in the second period and beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The Colorado Avalanche are expected to stick with goaltender Darcy Kuemper in goal for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Nazem Kadri had three assists in a 2:04 span in the second period, backup Pavel Francouz stopped 24 shots for his second career playoff shutout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

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Valeri Nichushkin scored the game-winning goal with 7:58 left, and the Colorado Avalanche became the first team to advance to the second round Monday night by finishing a sweep of the Nashville Predators 5-3 Monday night.

The pressure is squarely on the Florida Panthers, New York Rangers and Calgary Flames down two games to one in their respective first-round series.

Gabriel Landeskog scored twice in the second period, and the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche beat the Nashville Predators 7-3 for a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference series.

Colorado goaltender Darcy Kuemper yanked his mask off and fell to the ice holding his head after being struck by a stick Saturday.

Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen scored, Pavel Francouz made 23 saves for his third career shutout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 to extend their franchise-record home winning streak to 16 games.

Some of the NHL's top teams got a head start on the trade deadline by making moves.

The Colorado Avalanche have acquired goaltender Devan Dubynk from the San Jose Sharks for defenseman Greg Pateryn and a fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft.

FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2019, file photo, St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, right, is congratulated as he passes the team box after scoring a goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Denver. Tarasenko makes his return after early season shoulder surgery that limited him to three goals in 10 games. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Ditto for St. Louis, the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Blues and Avalanche were navigating through some key injuries before the season was halted in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The hiatus allowed time to heal and now the top two teams in the Western Conference return as Cup favorites. The two teams get things rolling Sunday in Edmonton by facing each other to kick off a round-robin tournament to determine seeding in the West. It should be a fun ride.Back on the ice for the Blues is forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who underwent shoulder surgery in late October.